Senate

Lindsey Graham: ‘I think Joe Biden deserves to be impeached’

by Lexi Lonas - 08/25/21 12:00 PM ET

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that President Biden should be impeached for his handling of the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

“I think he should be impeached,” Graham said during a segment on Newsmax.

“I think Joe Biden deserves to be impeached because he’s abandoned thousands of Afghans who fought with us and he’s going to abandon some American citizens because he capitulated to the Taliban to a 31 August deadline,” he added.

Biden said his administration will stick to the Aug. 31 deadline he set earlier in the year to withdraw all U.S. troops from the area. The U.S. has already evacuated tens of thousands of Afghan allies and U.S. citizens from the region.

“We are currently on a pace to finish by August the 31st,” Biden said Tuesday. “The sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops. But the completion by August 31st depends upon the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who we’re transporting out and no disruptions to our operations.”

Following the U.S. draw down of troops in the country, the Taliban made significant military gains in the region, overtaking major cities. The insurgent group consolidated control after taking Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.

Since then, chaos has ensued as Afghans and U.S. citizens rushed to the Kabul international airport to evacuate the region. Reports on the ground have also painted a picture of violence and chaos.

Concerns remain among lawmakers that the Aug. 31 deadline won’t be long enough to get everyone out. The Taliban has said it won’t accept an extension of U.S. troops in the region.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has called on Biden to ignore the Aug. 31 deadline.

“The president needs to forget about the August 31 deadline. … Extend the deadline, get outside the perimeter, make sure that every single American who wants to leave is able to get out with our assistance and our Afghan allies,” McConnell said during a Fox News interview on Tuesday.

Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who served as a senior State Department official during the Obama administration, cast doubt on whether an Aug. 31 deadline was realistic.

“There has been and remains an overwhelming bipartisan consensus that this cannot be done by Aug. 31,” he said Tuesday.

Graham said Wednesday that if he was commander in chief, he would’ve “told the Taliban to go to hell.”

“If I was president of the United States, I would have told the Taliban to go to hell. We’re going to stay here as long as it takes to get our people out,” Graham said.

“Joe Biden, for political reasons, wanted to pull all of our troops out because of the polling numbers and what has he done? He’s created the conditions for another 9/11. He’s abandoned thousands of people who honorably and bravely fought among with us,” Graham added.

“I think this is the most dishonorable thing a commander in chief has done, maybe in modern times,” Graham concluded.

Tags Afghanistan withdrawal Joe Biden Lindsey Graham Mitch McConnell Tom Malinowski